Market Commentary – July 29, 2019

Market Commentary – July 29, 2019

The Markets
It has been said there are two sides to every story. Just look at world financial markets. Stock markets and bond markets are telling very different stories.

In the United States, stock markets were blue ribbon winners last week.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounded to a record high. The Nasdaq Composite also set a new record. Barron’s reported U.S. stock markets were supported by abundant optimism inspired by expectations for solid earnings growth and a Federal Reserve rate cut in July.

Optimism pushed stocks higher in Europe last week, too. CNBC reported investors were receptive to news suggesting the European Central Bank would ease monetary policy to support the European economy. A significant number of national stock indices in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia finished last week higher, according to Barron’s.

Bond markets have been telling a less optimistic story.

In many regions of the world, bond yields have sunk below zero, and bond buyers have been locking in losses by investing in bonds with negative yields.

In the United States, the 10-year Treasury yield remains positive, but it has dropped from 3.2 percent in November 2018 to 2.1 percent at the end of last week.

So, what are bond markets saying? Barron’s suggested some possibilities:  “…bond buyers locking in subzero yields aren’t doing it, of course, for love of losses. They might think that the certainty of small losses will prove a better deal in the years ahead than whatever stocks provide…There’s something else that negative yields could be telling us. Investors need bonds for things like diversification and setting aside money at known rates to offset known liabilities. For an investor who must buy bonds, a purchase here with negative yields isn’t necessarily a bet against stocks. It could just be a wager that bond yields won’t get much better – that slow growth and meager inflation will loom for many years.”

Time will tell.

music, earworms, and data storage. Anyone who has ever suffered an earworm (known in scientific circles as Involuntary Musical Imagery) understands the power of music. Some tunes that repeatedly pop into people’s heads may include:

  • It’s a Small World (Disney)
  • Don’t Stop Believing (Journey)
  • Who Let the Dogs Out? (Baha Men)
  • Silver Bells (Bing Crosby)
  • We are the Champions (Queen)

 Let’s face it. Music can be potent. In The Power of Music, Elena Mannes writes, “…science today is showing that music is in fact encoded in our bodies and brains.” She discusses research suggesting music may be able to help people heal, change behavior, and treat neurological disorders.

It may be used in other ways, too. Soon, you may experience a new music phenomenon called Imperceptible Audio Communication. That’s when data is secretly coded into music. You won’t be able to hear it, but your smartphone and other devices will.

At the 44th IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, a pair of doctoral students shared their work, which focuses on storing data in music.

Imagine, someday you may be:

  • Walking through an airport, not really listening to the piped-in sounds, when your phone picks up a data feed from the music and lets you know your flight is delayed.
  • Pushing your cart down a grocery aisle and Muzak® advises your smartphone cauliflower is on sale.
  • Checking into a hotel and having the lobby music send the Wi-Fi password and other check-in data directly to your smartphone.
  • Dancing in a club and having your smartphone flash a drink special.

The times – they are changing.

Weekly Focus – Think About It
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
–Arthur C. Clarke, British writer and inventor

Best regards,

John F. Reutemann, Jr., CLU, CFP®

 

P.S.  Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to the list, please reply to this email with their email address and we will ask for their permission to be added.

Investment advice offered through Research Financial Strategies, a registered investment advisor.

S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; the DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index does include reinvested dividends and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, Barron’s, djindexes.com, London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not applicable.

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* This newsletter and commentary expressed should not be construed as investment advice.
* Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value.  However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.
* Corporate bonds are considered higher risk than government bonds but normally offer a higher yield and are subject to market, interest rate and credit risk as well as additional risks based on the quality of issuer coupon rate, price, yield, maturity, and redemption features.
* The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index.
* All indexes referenced are unmanaged. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment.
* The Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index covers approximately 95% of the market capitalization of the 45 developed and emerging countries included in the Index.
* The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents the afternoon gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association. The gold price is set twice daily by the London Gold Fixing Company at 10:30 and 15:00 and is expressed in U.S. dollars per fine troy ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly known as “The Dow,” is an index representing 30 stock of companies maintained and reviewed by the editors of The Wall Street Journal.
* The NASDAQ Composite is an unmanaged index of securities traded on the NASDAQ system.
* International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging markets.
* Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
* Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.
* Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
* You cannot invest directly in an index.
* Stock investing involves risk including loss of principal.
* The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee it is accurate or complete.
* There is no guarantee a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.
* Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
* Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
* To unsubscribe from the Weekly Market Commentary please reply to this e-mail with “Unsubscribe” in the subject.

Sources:
https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-some-investors-are-buying-bonds-that-lose-money-51564179385?mod=hp_DAY_2 (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-29-19_Barrons-Why_Some_Investors_are_Buying_Bonds_that_Lose_Money-Footnote_1.pdf)
https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-s-p-500-hit-a-new-high-because-the-market-still-expects-the-federal-reserve-to-cut-interest-rates-51564195482?mod=hp_DAY_3 (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-29-19_Barrons_The_S_and_P_Hit_a_New_High_Because_the_Market_Still_Expects_the_Federal_Reserve_to_Cut_Interest_Rates-Footnote_2.pdf)
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/26/europe-stock-markets-ecb-holds-interest-rates-and-earnings-in-focus.html
https://www.barrons.com/market-data/stocks/emea?mod=md_usstk_view_emea (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-29-19_Barrons-UK_FTSE_100_Stock_Index-Footnote_4.pdf)
https://www.barrons.com/market-data/stocks/asia?mod=md_emeastk_view_asia (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-29-19_Barrons-Hong_Kong_Hang_Seng_Stock_Index-Footnote_5.pdf)
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5ETNX/history?p=%5ETNX
https://www.amazon.com/Poamazon%20Power%20of%20Musicwer-Music-Pioneering-Discoveries-Science/dp/0802719961/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Elena+Mannes+POwer+of&qid=1564244240&s=dmusic&sr=8-1 (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-29-19_Book_Excerpt-The_Power_of_Music-Footnote_7.pdf)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190709122014.htm
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/technology

Market Commentary – July 29, 2019

Market Commentary – July 22, 2019

The Markets
Did last week mark the start of a new policy for the Federal Reserve?

The U.S. Federal Reserve has a reputation for providing little transparency about the timing and direction of potential rate changes. That reputation was challenged last week.

In back-to-back speeches, two of the three most influential members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman Richard Clarida and Fed Bank of New York President John Williams – made a case for lowering the Fed funds rate to support economic growth, reported Financial Times.

When asked about Fed officials’ comments, a currency strategist cited by Financial Times said, “…the communication we received seemed in many ways to be a coordinated attempt to signal the market given its timing and context…”

The magnitude of the change remains a mystery. Barron’s reported debate remains over whether the Fed will cut rates by 0.25 or 0.50 of a percentage point. On Saturday, the CME FedWatch Tool reported a 77.5 percent probability of the former.

There was some positive economic data last week, including an uptick in U.S. consumer spending and positive manufacturing data from the Philadelphia Fed’s July survey, reported Barron’s. However, the Conference Board Leading Economic Index® declined, indicating growth may remain slow during the second half of the year. The index combines 10 individual leading indicators in an effort to reveal patterns in economic data.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 1.2 percent last week.

how hot was it last week?
If you were in a region of the United States that didn’t experience some of the hottest and most humid weather in years over the weekend, count your lucky stars.

The Washington Post reported, “The heat wave…comes in the midst of what may turn out to be the hottest month Earth has recorded since instrument records began in the late 19th century…”

So, how hot was it?

It was so hot:

  • The National Weather Service staff in Nebraska attempted to bake biscuits inside a car, reported UPI. The biscuits didn’t bake through, but the tops were crispy. The temperature in the pan reached 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Paved roads were melting in France and Germany. Deteriorating road conditions caused Germany to impose speed limits on the Autobahn, which usually has no limits at all, reported Bloomberg.
  • Bicycles melted and police were called to restore order at public pools in Berlin, Germany, according to tweets cited by Buzzfeed.

The U.S. heat event is expected to end by Tuesday. Forecasters were warning the heat index could rise as high as 115 degrees. If you are in an area afflicted by extreme heat, the National Weather Service advises staying out of the sun, remaining in air-conditioned places, drinking plenty of water, and checking on older or disabled friends and relatives.

Weekly Focus – Think About It
“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself – and be lenient to everybody else.”
–Henry Ward Beecher, American minister and speaker

 Best regards,

Best regards,
John F. Reutemann, Jr., CLU, CFP®

P.S.  Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to the list, please reply to this email with their email address and we will ask for their permission to be added.

S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; the DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index does include reinvested dividends and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, Barron’s, djindexes.com, London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not applicable.

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Thanksgiving is almost here: a time to enjoy friends, family, great food, and maybe a whole lot of football. As we give thanks for what we have received and celebrate the triumphs in our lives, we are continuing a tradition that has lasted for hundreds of years. This...

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The Fourth of July is just ahead – a chance for us all to get together and celebrate what makes America so special. As Americans, we have the liberty to act, speak, think, and worship freely. This precious liberty was fought for, and it has been upheld for more than...

read more

Investment advice offered through Research Financial Strategies, a registered investment advisor.

* This newsletter and commentary expressed should not be construed as investment advice.
* Wells Fargo Advisors did not assist in the preparation of this report, and its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Wells Fargo Advisors or its affiliates. The material has been prepared or is distributed solely for information purposes and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy any security or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy.
* Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value.  However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.
* Corporate bonds are considered higher risk than government bonds but normally offer a higher yield and are subject to market, interest rate and credit risk as well as additional risks based on the quality of issuer coupon rate, price, yield, maturity, and redemption features.
* The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index.
* All indexes referenced are unmanaged. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment.
* The Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index covers approximately 95% of the market capitalization of the 45 developed and emerging countries included in the Index.
* The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents the afternoon gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association. The gold price is set twice daily by the London Gold Fixing Company at 10:30 and 15:00 and is expressed in U.S. dollars per fine troy ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly known as “The Dow,” is an index representing 30 stock of companies maintained and reviewed by the editors of The Wall Street Journal.
* The NASDAQ Composite is an unmanaged index of securities traded on the NASDAQ system.
* International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging markets.
* Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
* Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.
* Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
* You cannot invest directly in an index.
* Stock investing involves risk including loss of principal.
* The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee it is accurate or complete.
* Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
* To unsubscribe from the Weekly Market Commentary please reply to this e-mail with “Unsubscribe” in the subject.

Sources:
https://www.ft.com/content/15c2d8c6-aa39-11e9-b6ee-3cdf3174eb89 (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-22-19_FinancialTimes-Fed_Comes_Under_Fire_from_Wall_Street_Over_Rate_Confusion-Footnote_1.pdf)
https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-gauges-barely-budge-as-fed-decision-looms-51563592175?mod=hp_DAY_3 (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-22-19_Barrons-Stock_Market_Gauges_Barely_Budge_as_Fed_Decision_Looms-Footnote_2.pdf)
https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/countdown-to-fomc.html (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-22-19_CMEGroup-Probabilities_of_FOMC_Rate_Moves-Footnote_3.pdf)
https://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=1
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/07/19/potentially-deadly-heat-wave-grips-two-thirds-us-with-dozens-records-likely-fall/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ffd966f965d8
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2019/07/19/National-Weather-Service-bakes-biscuits-in-hot-car/5931563563478/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-26/blazing-heatwave-forces-germany-to-lower-autobahn-speed-limit
https://www.buzzfeed.com/michelleno/europe-is-so-hot-right-now-that-even-meteorologists-are
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/18/743268248/heat-wave-blankets-much-of-the-u-s-this-week
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/resilience

The importance of time management

The importance of time management

It may sound strange to hear a financial advisor say this but achieving the things you care about most requires more than just money. There are certain habits and behaviors that, while not directly related to finance, can spell the difference between reaching your goals or not. In our experience, people rarely hear about these things from their financial advisors. We want to share some non-financial lessons we’ve learned. It’s our belief that applying these lessons makes working towards your goals both easier and more rewarding.

So, without further ado, here is:

Things Most Advisors Don’t Tell You #2:


Managing your most precious asset

Do you know what your most precious asset is?
It’s not your house. It’s not your car. It’s not your investment portfolio.
It’s your time.

Benjamin Franklin once said:
If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality, since lost time is never found again, and what we call time enough, always proves little enough.

You’ve probably seen or heard a lot of fancy terms related to your finances. “Asset management,” for example, or “Investment management.” You get the idea. But just as important is the concept of time management.

The definition of time management is, “The act of planning and exercising control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, or productivity.” 1 Look at those words again. Planning. Control. Effectiveness. Productivity. All things that can have a big impact on how much money you have to achieve what you want most.

The art of time management is essentially the art of prioritizing your life. It’s the art of recognizing which activities are most important in terms of reaching your goals. Some activities will bring you closer; others will move you further away. Many activities, of course, will have no effect either way.

Let’s call them “A” activities, “B” activities, and “C” activities. “A” brings you closer to your goal, “B” keeps you stationary, and “C” moves you further away.

For example, let’s say one of your most cherished goals is to travel to the country your ancestors came from. “A” activities could include creating a plan for getting there, setting aside money specifically for the trip, or learning that country’s language. “B” activities, meanwhile, could be anything from going to the grocery store, to playing a round of golf once a month, or sleeping.

Some examples of “C” activities? How about buying that new $1,000-version of the phone you already have? Or deciding not to plan, but just wing it, instead? As you can see, “B” and even “C” activities are NOT inherently bad! In many cases, those activities can be fun, rewarding, or even necessary. But when you prioritize “B” activities over “A” activities, or when you spend your time or money mainly on “C” activities, then your most cherished goal will always be a fantasy instead of a reality.

Time management, then, is the process of:
• Determining what you need to do to get where you want to go. (These are your “A” activities.)
• Making those activities be your first priority on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
• Filling up the remainder of your time with “B” activities after the “A” activities are done.
• Being very cautious about when you spend time or money on “C” activities.

As you may know, we help people plan for retirement. In our experience, people who don’t practice time management end up planning for retirement this way:
1. First, they dream about what they’d like to do in retirement, and then decide it’ll probably happen “some day.” Then they start thinking about what to do for the weekend.
2. A few months or years later, they read a book or article on retirement planning and think, “This makes sense, I’ll have to get on that sometime.” Then they turn on the TV.
3. Occasionally, they remember to save or invest a portion of their income, between bouts of buying the latest thingamajig that everyone else seems to have.

Then, before they know it, they’re in their sixties, and realize they’re nowhere close to being ready for retirement. The point is, time is an asset. But like all assets – money, property, personal skills – if you fail to manage it properly, it will go to waste and be lost forever. That’s why, when it comes to accomplishing what really matters, time management is just as important as money management.

And that’s something most advisors just don’t bother to tell you.

 

1 “Time Management,” Wikipedia.org, accessed July 10, 2019. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management

Market Commentary – July 29, 2019

Market Commentary – July 15, 2019

The bulls are running.
Last week, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index set a new record, closing above 3,000 for the first time. Other major U.S. stock indices also finished at record highs, reported Barron’s.

Company fundamentals, investor sentiment, and geopolitics all have the power to push stock prices higher. However, according to Financial Times, last week’s gains were attributed to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress and the expectation the Federal Reserve will lower the Fed funds rates in July.

Financial Times reported:  “Mr. Powell laid out the case for monetary easing by highlighting some softness in indicators such as business fixed investment and persistently low inflation. But mostly, he stressed the impact of uncertainty stemming from trade tensions, weak global growth, the possibility that the U.S. Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, and a no-deal Brexit.”

Investors were encouraged by the possibility of monetary easing. Yardeni Research charted data showing the Investors Intelligence bull/bear ratio rose to 3.1 on July 9. It was 2.94 on June 25 and 3.05 on July 2, which indicates bullishness has been increasing.

An Investors Intelligence bull/bear ratio greater than 1 typically indicates high levels of bullishness, while a bull/bear ratio of less than 1 typically indicates high levels of bearishness. The ratio generally is considered a contrarian indicator, explained Investing Answers.

Year-to-date, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is up 20.2 percent.

An auction the yelnats would appreciate.
Sneakers play an important role in the film Holes. Stanley Yelnats IV is arrested for stealing a pair and his father, Stanley Yelnats III, spends his time trying to invent a cure for sneaker odor.

The Yelnats would probably be interested in an upcoming Sotheby’s auction which features 100 pairs of rare sneakers. You see, sneakers have become collectibles, like fine art.

The Wall Street Journal explained, “Collecting limited-edition sneakers has evolved from the past time of a loopy subculture to a booming mainstream passion.”

Collectors of fine sneakers are known as sneakerheads. During the Sotheby’s auction, they’ll have opportunities to invest in:

  • A pair of sneakers handmade for the 1972 Olympic trials, featuring a waffle tread inspired by the designer’s wife’s waffle iron.
  • Two pairs “…inspired by Marty McFly’s kicks in Back to the Future Part II. Both pairs were part of limited releases, originally sold to benefit The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.”
  • A pair of sneaks produced “…in collaboration with famed fashion house Chanel. The shoe released only at a special Chanel pop-up shop at Colette in Paris in extremely limited quantities…”
  • 2017’s sneaker of the year, which the auction catalogue touted as a “…shoe absolutely everybody wants but few can get.”
  • A pair “…released exclusively in NYC at the Museum of Modern Art [MoMA]. All pairs sold out almost instantly at MoMA on January 27 at the shoe’s only release. This design is truly a work of sneaker art.”

In case you’re wondering, the starting bid for the handmade Olympic sneakers is $80,000.

Even if you don’t find sneakers lovely, and wouldn’t display them above the fireplace in your living room or mount them in your trophy room, you may want to check your closets for collectibles.

Weekly Focus – Think About It
“Collecting facts is important. Knowledge is important. But if you don’t have an imagination to use the knowledge, civilization is nowhere.”
–Ray Bradbury, American author

Best regards,

John F. Reutemann, Jr., CLU, CFP®

P.S.  Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to the list, please reply to this email with their email address and we will ask for their permission to be added.

Investment advice offered through Research Financial Strategies, a registered investment advisor.

S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; the DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index does include reinvested dividends and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, Barron’s, djindexes.com, London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not applicable.

Most Popular Financial Stories

The Fed’s Drive To 2% Inflation

February isn't over yet, but the Cleveland Fed has released its projections for a few key economic markers. Why are these markers important? The Fed likes to look at the Consumer Personal Expenditures (CPE) to gauge whether or not their plan to curb inflation is...

read more

Consumers Expect Better Days Ahead

Many consider the University of Michigan the gold standard for reporting on consumer sentiment and trends. Among its 50 monthly reports, the most well-known is the "UMich Consumer Sentiment" survey, which measures consumer confidence. I also follow the University of...

read more

Wishing You A Happy And Safe Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is almost here: a time to enjoy friends, family, great food, and maybe a whole lot of football. As we give thanks for what we have received and celebrate the triumphs in our lives, we are continuing a tradition that has lasted for hundreds of years. This...

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A.I. Is Everywhere

If you've heard CEOs mention "A.I." multiple times during second-quarter conference calls or on the news, you're not imagining it. There have been an astounding 1,072 mentions of A.I. (and counting) so far.1 Some believe that A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) has the...

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Happy Independence Day

The Fourth of July is just ahead – a chance for us all to get together and celebrate what makes America so special. As Americans, we have the liberty to act, speak, think, and worship freely. This precious liberty was fought for, and it has been upheld for more than...

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* Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value.  However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.
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Sources:
https://www.barrons.com/articles/dow-major-ndexes-sett-record-ford-volkswagen-china-trade-outflows-51562964799 (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-15-19_Barrons-The_Dow_S_and_P_500_and_Nasdaq_Set_Records_Yet_Investor_Sentiment_is_Low-Footnote_1.pdf)
https://www.ft.com/content/ed3fe53c-a444-11e9-974c-ad1c6ab5efd1 (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-15-19_FinancialTimes-US_Stocks_Reach_New_Highs_as_Spotlight_Remains_on_Fed-Footnote_2.pdf)
https://www.ft.com/content/7e69f980-a364-11e9-974c-ad1c6ab5efd1 (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-15-19_FinancialTimes-Federal_Reserves_Dovish_Tilt_Stirs_Debate_on_How_Far_It_will_Go-Footnote_3.pdf)
https://www.yardeni.com/pub/peacockbullbear.pdf (or go to https://peakcontent.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/+Peak+Commentary/07-15-19_Yardeni_Research-Investors_Intelligence_Sentiment-Footnote_4.pdf)
https://investinganswers.com/dictionary/b/bullbear-ratio
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311289/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ql_stry_2
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-auction-sneakers/sneakers-give-art-a-run-for-its-money-at-first-of-a-kind-sothebys-auction-idUSKCN1U62S7
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-collectible-sneaker-game-a-guide-for-obsessives-and-beginners-1484849746
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneaker_collecting
https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-hype-is-real-bid-on-100-of-the-rarest-sneakers-ever-produced
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/stadium-goods-the-ultimate-sneaker-collection-online/adidas-pw-x-cc-x-hu-x-nmd-karl-lagerfeld-size-9-5?locale=en
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/stadium-goods-the-ultimate-sneaker-collection-online/nike-off-white-x-nike-the-ten-10-pairs?locale=en
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/stadium-goods-the-ultimate-sneaker-collection-online/nike-off-white-x-nike-limited-af1-releases-3-pairs?locale=en
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/stadium-goods-the-ultimate-sneaker-collection-online/nike-nike-waffle-racing-flat-moon-shoe-size-12-5?locale=en
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ray_bradbury_626618?src=t_collecting

5 Benefits of Working in Retirement

5 Benefits of Working in Retirement

In the past, retirement has been portrayed as an ending, a grand exit from your years in the workplace. But the rules are shifting. Labor force participation among those aged 65-74 is predicted to reach 32 percent by 2022, up from just 20 percent in 2002.

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